Richard A. Fox, a theater owner who founded the Fox Theater chain and a former president of NATO, died Wednesday. He was 90.
After founding Fox Theaters in 1957, Fox spent more than three decades growing his company, eventually expanding to twenty-five locations with more than one-hundred screens and over 1000 employees. At its peak, Fox Theaters was one of the largest independently-owned movie theater companies in the USA.
Fox was originally born in in Buffalo, N.Y. to Harry Fox and Freda Morgan Fox and attended college at the University of Buffalo. Soon after, he served in the U.S. Army as a staff sergeant.
In 1984, Fox was elected President of the National Association of Theater Owners (NATO), an industry trade association that represented a number of movie theater owners from around the country. He was also the organization’s last volunteer president.
Outside of NATO, Fox was a former board member of the Jewish Federation of Reading, Pa., B’nai B’rith, Variety Club and the Will Rogers Motion Picture Pioneers Foundation.
He is survived by his wife Marcia Spokane Fox, son Donald Fox, daughter Sheryl Fox Myerson, son Herrick “Rick” Fox, sister Lee Redstone and his former wife Helen Fox. He is also survived by seven grandchildren, three stepchildren and seven step-grandchildren.